Dirty Little Secret, Love
by SecondSelf
Summary: A tragic event sets Kim on a path of having to make life changing decisions. Not always making the right choices, Kim hurts the one person who comes to mean more to her than she could have ever believed. KiGo
1. Sex, Lies & Heartbreak

Kim Possible and all characters are copyright of Disney.

xxx

The room was lit by a bedside lamp covered with a sheer green scarf that gave a sense of coolness and serenity to the room. That serenity belied the heated activity occurring on the bed.

They were on the bed, one sitting on the side, fully clothed, the other straddling her, fully naked. Gasps, moans, heavy breathing, sounds made during moments of passion, or at this moment of fucking, filled the room.

Her fingers deep inside, thrusting, finding that sweet spot, finding a hard swollen clit, finding wetness, warmth. Firm, toned body grinding, rising, falling against hers. Pussy tightened. She was close. "That's my girl...my beautiful girl. Come for me baby...say my name." _Say my name...you used to_. Lips travelled to a firm breast, capturing a nipple, sucking hard, nibbling softly. Other breast found and licked, sucked, nibbled. Bringing her closer.

xxx

God it felt so good. It always felt so good. So good, so right. So deep inside her. Warmth spreading, nerves and skin tingling, her body's response to the kissing, licking, sucking, stroking. She said nothing, only letting gasps and moans escape to show what she was feeling. There was safety in not saying anything. She fought against calling out her lovers name now, couldn't do that to her because that would give her hope when there was none. Eyes closed tight, face buried in her neck. She rarely looked her in the eyes anymore because that would mean she would become more lost in her and she could never let that happen. Not now. Not since her lover started looking at her differently. In that way. A way no-one had ever looked at her before but a look which said a thousand words. No it said only five words. _I'm. In. Love…_

The orgasm hit hard, her body arched and she threw back her head, a loud gasp escaping, then she collapsed forward again back into her lovers embrace.

_Holding me so tight, I feel so safe, nothing will ever hurt me while I'm in her embrace. While I'm with her_.

xxx

When the aftershocks stopped, she opened her eyes, saw the time on the clock on the bedside table. _Dammit._ Didn't want to get up, to break that embrace, but she did and started picking her clothes up off the floor. "I have to go." she said.

"Can't you stay? At least for a little while?" Not begging, almost pleading.

"You know I can't." Don't look her in the eyes. Focus on getting dressed. If you look her in the eyes now you won't leave here. Won't Leave Her. Won't Leave Ever.

xxx

She watches her getting dressed. Quick, methodical. No eye contact again. So hurt, confused. Yet nothing is wrong, apparently. Moves to the bedside table, takes out her wedding band from the drawer where she left if earlier and slips it back on. Hurts like hell to watch her do that. Heart torn apart again. She approaches for the customary farewell peck on the cheek. Searching her face. _Still won't look at me. What has changed? What have I done? What is wrong? What have _I done wrong_?_

"I'll see you tomorrow." Quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll stay a little longer then." Liar.

Eyes meet. Opportunity. "I'm in love with you." First time said. Not first time thought.

Eyes downcast. "I know." Turn and walk away. Now.

xxx

Shego sat on the bed waiting until she heard the front door to the apartment close, then let her tears flow. She couldn't believe that she had said those words aloud. Had never felt that way about anyone, had never wanted to say them to anyone. Until now. Until her.

_I told her I was in love with her and all she said was 'I know'? 'I know.' Then she turned and walked away. I've been such a fool._

xxx

Kim managed to get to her car before her tears started. She heard the words over and over in her head. She was unsure when but had known they were coming, that look had been in Shego's eyes for at least three weeks now. And while they were the most amazing words to hear Shego say to her, hearing them had still caught her by surprise and they had scared her. Scared because she may have to make choices she didn't want to. She knew it was cruel to have only said "I know." in return. Scared, she had turned and walked away.

She played with her wedding band, repeatedly moving it up and down her finger, each time getting closer to taking it off. _Just take the damn thing off and go back and be with her. Shego told you she's in love with you! It's what you… _No, she couldn't. Taking the ring off wasn't an option. More tears flowed.

xxx

Kim stood outside the door of the apartment bracing herself for the conversation, fight, whatever was going to occur once she went inside. She hadn't heard from Shego since the day before when Shego had told her how she felt. There had been no response to the text messages Kim sent, phone calls were unanswered. She had practiced for most of last night and throughout the day what she would say to Shego, but Kim wasn't confident she was ready for what was about to happen.

She reached into her backpack and took out the spare key Shego had given her. She stopped to look at the silver _KP _initials on the keychain it was attached to. Shego had carefully melded the once separate letters together and Kim smiled at the deliberate attention to detail and Shego's thoughtfulness. Shego had recently added a second larger key but would not tell Kim what it was for. "You're a clever girl. You'll figure it out." had been her cryptic response. Kim had known immediately what it represented. Again so as not to give Shego hope, Kim had pretended not to know. Had nagged Shego about its purpose, deliberately tried it in several locks in the apartment, those attempts met with eye rolling and head shaking from Shego, but it opened nothing. Kim knew that would be the case, knew it's symbolic, not practical, purpose.

She took a deep breath, exhaled again, put the door key into the lock and entered a dark apartment.

"Shego?" she called out closing the door behind her. "Shego are you here?" There was no response, only the muted sound of traffic passing by outside. She threw her backpack onto the lounge and walked through to the dining room. On the table sat Shego's laptop. It was open and powered on. As she neared it, Kim noticed the sticky note stuck to the middle of the screen. In her neat handwriting Shego had written PLAY ME... _for a fool._ Kim 's stomach dropped. She removed the sticky note, there was a frozen image on the screen. It was Shego.

Scared of what she was going to hear, Kim pressed the play button. Shego took the longest time to begin to talk, to look directly at the screen. When she did, her voice was shaky, her eyes kept darting to the screen and away again. Kim could see she had been crying.

"I can't do this." Shego stated, looking to the side, shaking her head. She looked directly at the screen again. "Over this past year we've been... Geez I don't know what we've been..."

Stunned, Kim hit the pause button. _Had it really been a year?_

xxx


	2. Heroes Reunion

Eleven months, three weeks earlier...

xxx

Despite the familiar surroundings, she felt she didn't belong there. The place smelt the same as others she'd been in before; a blend of industrial machine oil, soldered metal, stale sweat and cheap cologne. It looked similar too. Cave like with a high ceiling, shadows and dark corners, high tech gadgets of all shapes, sizes and purpose. And of course that one key piece of equipment taking pride of place in the middle of the floor. The latest device she was told would guarantee world domination. _As long as he doesn't touch it_, she thought. _That would only guarantee setting off its self-destruct mechanism. _

She'd been reading the same paragraph of the handwritten notes in her hand over and over, trying to interpret the childlike scrawl. She looked from the piece of paper to the control panel of the device trying to find the "_smal red buttom"_ that had to be pressed to test the correct activation sequence. Only there was no smal red buttom on the panel, not even a _large_ red buttom to press. For a fleeting frustration influenced moment, she contemplated turning the useless pieces of paper to ash, but decided the outburst that would result wasn't worth it.

The clock on the wall showed it was nine fifty five, same as the day she arrived. Every day she'd asked the goons to fix it and obviously they couldn't manage something as simple as that. Usually time meant nothing to her, but at least if the clock worked, it might give her an idea of how long she'd been there and without any windows to look out of, it was difficult to tell if it was still daytime, or if night had fallen.

Constructing the device over the past week from hundreds of components, now trying to make it operational had made her mentally and physically tired, whatever time it was. Shego just wanted to go home.

She looked over at Drakken sitting hunched over some blueprints at his desk, unsure how she was going to tell him his instructions were wrong. He had been giving her a hard enough time since she'd been back about the device not being ready, or, she had to listen to him rambling on about his scientific counterparts not acknowledging his genius (his word not hers). He had been in a continually worked up state, following her around, alternately yelling at the top of his voice at her or talking sweetly when he needed something done. She caught him talking to himself more so than he had done in the past too, incoherently mumbling under his breath, stopping when he noticed she was watching him and starting again when he thought no-one was around. She had no idea what was wrong with him, wondered if he had finally gone completely insane.

_What the hell am I doing here? _she asked herself, then thought maybe it was time to leave Drakken to work this out for himself, to go away again and never come back.

xxx

They had parted ways just weeks after the Lowardian attack. Not coping with her re-acquired hero status, Shego set out to travel the world to see what it was she had helped fight for against the aliens. She wandered from country to country, trying to work out what to do next. In the three years she was away, she didn't find the answer she'd gone looking for.

xxx

Global Justice established the Middleton Research Institute within days of the invasion. Its purpose; to develop an early warning system to detect and deflect further alien invasions. They put Drakken in charge thinking he was the person best suited to head the program, but he quickly became the laughing stock of the other scientists working at the Institute. They ridiculed him behind his back about his crazy plans and prototypes, none of which worked once they were constructed. It was after the failed demonstration of his "Alien Find and Foil Apparatus" that he became aware of the derision of his peers. In the awkward silence after the smoke had cleared and the fizzing and popping had stopped, he heard someone say, "He should have stuck to botany." The comment and resulting raucous laughter left Drakken burning with embarrassment and rage. A year of failed projects costing millions of dollars and Global Justice finally cut him loose. Pushed over the edge, he immediately began planning his latest scheme to take over the world. This time Drakken swore he would show them all.

It took him two years to eventually track Shego down in South America and he sweet talked her into coming back to work for him. At first she told him she wasn't interested, but when he mumbled something about being in Middleton, she packed her bag and caught the next flight back.

xxx

"Look out!" someone yelled. The sound of metal bouncing on cement echoed loudly throughout the lair. A piece of pipe rolled across the floor towards Shego and she stopped it with her foot. She looked up at the walkway overhead and one of Drakken's henchmen was leaning over the side rail looking down at her. When he saw her, he froze.

"Get down here and pick those up," she said.

He disappeared from sight, quickly reappearing beside her, stopping to get the pipe from under her foot. Grabbing it, he moved to straighten, but Shego didn't move. Letting go he straightened again. He towered over her and had around 250 pounds on her, but he knew neither his height, nor his weight, was any kind of an advantage for him when it came to Shego.

"And get a new battery for that damn clock." She signaled with her thumb and he looked over at the wall. When he turned back, his face glowed green and the flame coming from Shego's hand reflected in his visor. His mouth dropped open and she saw his brow rise under the hood of his uniform. "I don't want to have to ask again." She kicked the pipe away and watched as he scurried after it, picking it and the others up.

Once she would have taken joy in intimidating the goon, using her plasma to threaten him, but she didn't get that power kick like in the past.

xxx

"Shego? _Shego!_ What was that racket?" Drakken had come to stand beside her and yelled directly in her ear. "Have you got the Global Detonation Sequencer operating yet?"

"No the-"

"I don't want any more excuses!" He began impatiently fiddling with the controls of the device, randomly pressing buttons. The machine responded by making objectionable metal grating on metal sounds and every light on the panel started to flicker erratically.

"Ummm Dr. D, I'd stop doing that if I were you."

He ignored Shego, continuing to turn dials, flick switches. "Once I get the Sequencer operational I'll-"

"Be going to prison for a long time," Kim said, standing on the walkway above them. She jumped over the rail, somersaulted through the air and landed squarely on her feet. Her stance was confident, she was in control.

"Kim Possible! Get her Shego!" Drakken said.

Shego didn't move. She just stood there, looking at Kim, taking in the differences, what was the same about her. Apart from a change to her mission outfit of a green, body hugging top, accessorized with an unmistakable look of disappointment, Kim hadn't changed at all.

Shego felt none of the irritation she had experienced in the past at seeing Kim, there was no anger, no feelings of hostility. She was at a loss at what to do.

"I said get her!" Drakken pushed Shego forward and she stumbled closer to Kim.

xxx

A volley of feelings hit Kim at once. Surprised and relieved to see Shego, knowing she was alright, was replaced with disappointment, anger and hurt that she was back working for Drakken. Kim swallowed hard to push back the emotions and the tears.

"Hey Kimmie."

The small tug Kim felt in her stomach was different to the adrenaline fuelled rush she already had. Momentarily taken aback by the sensation, Kim couldn't find any words to form a reply, just stood looking back at Shego. A few seconds passed before something finally clicked in Kim's head. She realized that with her emotions taking over, she was losing her focus and in a situation like this, that was dangerous. _Get yourself under control. _

"I'm not surprised Drakken is back to his old ways, but why are you here Shego?"

"A girl's gotta pay the bills." Shego knew the answer was lame, but it was the best she could do when she didn't know the answer to the same question she had been asking herself.

Kim gave Shego a look of disbelief. "I can't believe you're here helping him with another of his schemes to take over the world," Kim said. "Why would you, after..."

"How wonderful!" Drakken interrupted, walking up behind Shego. "The saviors of the world together again. If I'd known we'd be having a reunion, I would have prepared a small celebration. I do apologize that the lair is in such a mess."

Shego's confused look told Kim she had no idea what was happening either.

"But wait, not everyone's here, are they?" he said. With the question that followed, his upbeat tone was replaced with one of pure disdain. "Where's the buffoon?" he said, looking directly at Kim.

When his words registered with her, Shego spun around to face Drakken. "Zip it Dr. D. You know about that," she said quietly. He'd been the one to tell her what happened to Ron Stoppable.

"What? Oh yes, the unfortunate _ac-ci-dent_," Drakken said. He called to Kim over Shego's shoulder. "The one time when you really needed to be all that and you weren't. I'm only sorry I wasn't there to see it happen. I thought Kim Possible could do anything. It would seem saving your boyfriend from being seriously hurt wasn't one of them." The look of despair on Kim's face gave him bravado he didn't normally have when she was around him, so he walked up to her, standing close, his face only centimeters from her own. "I heard he's lucky to be alive at all. No thanks to you," he said.

"Stop saying those things." Kim whispered, tears welling in her eyes. She looked pleadingly at Shego. "Shego, make him stop."

Shego would be the first to admit that she had taken every opportunity in the past to taunt Kim, but here, now, she was finding Drakken's words more than taunting, he was being horribly cruel. Based on the little she knew of what happened to Stoppable, what Drakken was saying was making _her _uncomfortable.

_Shego, make him stop. _

"Drakken, leave her alone," Shego said.

Drakken walked back to his desk, rummaged through the papers on it. "I'm sure I have a newspaper article here somewhere about the tragedy, but it's a bit light on detail. Perhaps you could read it Kimberly and fill in the gaps for me. I'd be most interested to know how you failed _that _mission."

"Why are you saying those things to her?" Shego had followed Drakken, grabbed him by his arm, pulling him around to face her. The look of utter hatred on his face shocked her and as he spoke he looked past her, staring at Kim.

"All those years of that interfering little _bitch _ruining my plans and putting me in jail." He stopped talking, his gaze becoming more distant. "I don't know why I didn't think to hurt him, to get at her." He faced Shego. "This is the last time Kim Possible will interfere with my plans. And I'll thank you, Shego, not to question me." He looked again in Kim's direction. "_Take care of her!_" he said.

"No way I'm not... "Shego realized the order was not directed at her. Following Drakken's line of sight, she saw his henchmen emerging from the shadows, from behind equipment and towards Kim. The goons fired up their laser staffs in unison, the blue energy flares making crackling sounds.

_Oh hell. _

Shego ran at the line of henchmen, grabbed one on his shoulder and pole vaulted over him, landing between Kim and the goons. Taking a defensive stance she gave them her best angry face.

"Shego! What are you doing?" said Drakken.

"It wouldn't be a fair fight," she said.

"Get out of the way! This is our opportunity to take care of Kim Possible once and for all."

"I can't let you do that, Drew," Shego said.

"What do you mean you can't let me do that?" Shego didn't answer him, just kept glaring at the goons. "Shego! Give me the instructions to the Sequencer now!" Drakken ordered. Until he said it, she'd forgotten she still held the papers in her hand. She clenched her fist tighter around them.

"Let Possible go and I'll think about it," she said.

Drakken glared at her, his hands angry balled fists by his side, his whole body trembling.

_Okay so you're not in any state to be reasoned with. _She looked at each henchman in turn. _Incompetent imbeciles. I could fire up my plasma and take you all down, one blast. No, I can't do that. _Trying a different tack, she eased back on the angry face, tried to sound friendly.

"Look, I don't wanna fight with you guys. I mean, we're on the same side. Right?" _Right? _"Just let Possible go. I'll take the heat from Drakken. Okay?" With their stony expressions, their eyes hidden behind their visors it was hard to judge what they were thinking. Shego took a few steps backwards to stand beside Kim.

"Get ready to move," she whispered.

"Shego you'll pay for this." Drakken said. "_GET THEM!_" he screamed. The henchmen raised their laser staffs.

Shego reached into Kim's thigh pouch and pulled out the grappling hook. She grabbed Kim around her waist, bringing their bodies close together. Kim put her arms around Shego, holding her tightly, pressing her face into Shego's neck.

Aiming the hook at the ceiling above the metal walkway, Shego pulled the trigger. The rope made a whistling sound as it whipped through the air and when the metal prong bit into the ceiling, Shego pressed the retract button. They were pulled up and over the henchmen, Shego using the momentum of the pull of the rope and the weight of their bodies to swing them across and onto the walkway where Kim had stood moments before. Shego hit the walkway running, but Kim stumbled and almost fell before Shego helped her gain her footing. They ran towards the emergency exit at the end of the walkway; the way Kim had gained access to the lair. Laser blasts shot past them from all angles, blasts coming so close, Shego felt their intense heat.

As she pushed Kim out through the door ahead of her, the last thing Shego heard was Drakken screaming nonsensically. "_SHEEEEGOHHHHH! YOU'RE... FIREEEEERRRRRDDDDDD_!"

_Well, doy. _

xxx

They were running through the woods at the base of the lair, Shego leading the way.

Thunder rumbled above their heads and the late afternoon sky was filled with dark, rain laden clouds which threatened to burst at any moment. The temperature had dropped; the cooling air turning their warm breaths to small clouds of steam as they ran.

When Shego thought they had put enough distance between them and the lair, she slowed to a fast walk. Realizing for the first time she was still holding Kim's hand, she let go and tucked the instructions for the Sequencer into her bodysuit.

"Okay, this is where we part ways Possible." Shego gave a dismissive wave of her hand and kept walking. "And you don't have to thank me for saving your butt back there. Just making sure it'll be around when _I'm _ready to kick it."

She readied herself for Kim's retort, but there wasn't one. She turned and saw Kim sitting on the ground, knees up against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around her shins, head resting on her knees. Shego groaned inwardly. _I don't need this._ Shego walked back and stood over Kim.

"Get up Possible," she said, hands on her hips. Kim shook her head. Shego reached down and grabbed at Kim's arm.

Kim pulled away. "Don't touch me!"

Shego reached down, firmly took hold of Kim's arm and easily lifted her to a standing position.

"Drakken could send those creeps after us. You can't stay here by yourself and _I'm_ not waiting around to find out if they're coming." She held on to Kim and made her walk. "Move. Get your butt out of here."

"I said don't touch me," said Kim, pulling away from Shego's grasp and backing away from the other woman.

"Fine. You're on your own." Shego had only taken a few steps when she heard shouts and calls in the distance behind her. Turning back to face the way they had come, Shego could see numerous blue plasma flares moving among the trees. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the goons, at their self-sabotaged attempt to sneak up on Kim and herself. Drakken would be proud.

Shego saw Kim facing the direction the goons were coming from, standing ready in a martial arts stance. Knowing Kim could easily take them on at any other time, Shego was unsure about now, after what Drakken had put her through. _Admirable, but maybe not a good idea, Kimmie. _Making a decision she hoped she wouldn't regret, she ran to Kim.

"Come on," Shego said. Kim looked at the outstretched hand, then at Shego. "Let's go," Shego encouraged. Kim took Shego's hand and let Shego lead her through the woods once more, this time without stopping.

xxx

"Where are we?" Kim said.

Shego sighed. "My place." Reaching down, she took a set of keys from her leg pouch and straightening again, unlocked the door.

xxx


	3. Shego's Place

A light came on illuminating the entrance foyer. Kim heard the door close, and several locks click into place. She faced the interior of the apartment, tightly hugging herself against the chill seeping through her rain soaked clothes. Her body temperature continued to drop; the shivering was uncontrollable, her hands and feet were going numb.

The sound of a soft _whoosh_ came from behind her, followed by a gust of warm air. Turning, Kim saw Shego brushing a strand of dry hair away from her face. Small wisps of steam rose from her bodysuit.

"That is so un…" Another tremor shook Kim's body. "…fair."

"What?" asked Shego flatly. An eyebrow arched and a small smile grew on her lips. "Oh right." She chuckled and stepping around Kim, walked further into the apartment. "The bathroom's this way," she called back over her shoulder.

Kim followed closely as Shego navigated her way through the dimly lit apartment. Lightning flashed behind the curtains of the floor to ceiling windows, briefly showing Kim the layout of the rooms. Trying to orientate herself with the surroundings, Kim bumped into Shego, not noticing she had stopped and was pulling towels from the linen closet.

"Sorry," Kim said.

A light green glow briefly surrounded the towels, before Shego pushed them into Kim's arms, turned and continued down the hall. She disappeared through a doorway, and then light spilled out onto the floor in front of Kim.

Kim stopped at the threshold. The room was bigger than the dorm room Kim used to have at college. More towels hung on racks and colorful bath products were arranged neatly to one side of the vanity. A large bath tub sat against more floor to ceiling windows.

"Have a shower if you want." Shego nodded towards the glass stall against the far wall. "I'll see what I can find for you to wear."

Before Kim could reply, Shego left, closing the door behind her.

xxx

Shego stood listening for sounds on the other side of the door. There was some shuffling noises, then water running. It was the bath. _Geez Kimmie, make yourself at home_. She waited a little longer, then quickly went to the bedroom.

xxx

Kim stripped off her clothes, pulling a towel around her. She stood at the windows waiting as the water ran, looking out through the rain haze at the lights of the surrounding buildings and streets below. She shook her head in disbelief. There was no mistaking the aviation beacons atop the Upperton Sky Needle in the distance. A few blocks away was the route for the bus she caught to college. Kim wondered how many times she had passed Shego's place not knowing she was living here. That was the second question Kim decided she was going to ask Shego. How long had she been back? The first was where she'd been for the last three years.

She moved to the vanity, catching her reflection in the large mirror. Her wet hair was flat, plastered to her head, accentuating the blotchy red patches on her pale face. Kim was embarrassed Shego had seen her like that.

Opening one of the bottles, she brought it to her nose and a tickling sensation passed through her stomach. It was the same scent Kim had smelt when she had tucked her head into Shego's neck at the lair. She screwed the lid back on tightly, replaced the bottle and selected another one. Kim found the light switch and flicked it off. There was enough light from the outside and the storm, that she was able to see. Returning to the bath, she turned the faucets off, let the towel drop to the floor and stepped into the steaming hot water.

She washed her hair using some of the bath product. Not ideal, but she didn't care. Lowering herself fully under the water to rinse off the excess lather and rising out again, she grabbed the towel from the floor, fluffed it through her hair and wrapped it around her head. She slid down low in the bath until her chin touched the waterline, straightening her legs, but still not touching the other end. She watched as steam rose from the water, enjoying the tingling sensation the hot water had on her skin. Kim closed her eyes, feeling relaxed for the first time in weeks.

xxx

Shego rummaged through the last of the items in the moving carton to make sure there was nothing of value or anything that could point to where she had been or where she might go. Drakken had brought it out from one of the storerooms on her first day back at the lair. It had contained some magazines, a manicure set, her bodysuits, gloves and boots, an evening dress and an old laptop he must have thought belonged to her. She was surprised he had held onto those things, considering she didn't tell him she was leaving and hadn't contacted him once while she was away. The remaining items left in it now were junk. It would go into the dumpster in the alley beside the apartment block.

Grabbing her duffel bag off the shelf, Shego dropped it to the floor. She knelt, pushing aside shoes, pulling back the carpet to reveal a floor safe. Unzipping her bodysuit, she tucked two bundles of money into the cleft between her breasts. A third went into her leg pouch. The last two went into the bag. There was only so much she could hide under clothing that was like a second skin. She picked up her passport, an expensive and expertly crafted fake one and flipped through the pages. The authentic visa for Brazil was still current. It was as good a place as any to start again. The passport was pressed into the small of her back, along with the Sequencer instructions, and the suit zipped back up.

Shego hesitated at the last item in the safe. She reached in and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in dark blue cloth, tied with thin strips of the same material. She moved to undo the ties, but couldn't bring herself to do it. Her shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes tightly to stop the unwanted memories from resurfacing. A few deep breaths, composed again, the item was gently tucked into her leg pouch. The safe was locked, the carpet replaced.

Shego decided to leave most of the clothes behind. If Kim happened to snoop around, she wouldn't find an empty wardrobe. She would travel light and buy anything she needed, as she needed it. She dropped several casual items into the bag.

Shego caressed the sleeve of a bodysuit. She knew she couldn't take them out of the country. If her bag was searched by Customs or airport security, there would be questions asked that she wouldn't want to answer and that would only lead to trouble. Leaving them with Drakken definitely wasn't an option anymore. There was no question; she had to get rid of them. There was only one thing that could absolutely destroy them, and she'd have to find somewhere isolated where the glow of her plasma would not be seen.

Kicking the box to the back of the closet, she roughly pulled the suit from the hanger, bunching it up tightly in her fist. "_Damn it_!"

If Drakken had kept his big mouth shut, she wouldn't have to be worrying about her suits or leaving. At least not right away. She could have left Drakken and his stupid plan behind, taken a few days to decide what to do next, maybe even stayed at the apartment until the end of the lease and used it as a base for other work. Now those options were gone and she couldn't risk staying.

And she shouldn't have brought Kim to the apartment. All she had to do was get her far enough away from Drakken's goons and she would have been able to take care of herself. They should have parted ways a long time before they arrived at the city limits.

Shego had to consider there was a possibility that once Kim figured out where they were, she would contact Global Justice. Shego never squared things off with any law enforcement agency about her wanted status before leaving, so she was unsure where she stood in that regard. She would gauge Kim's mood and how they parted company tonight and take it from there. Shego would go to ground for a few days, waiting until it was safe to travel again, if there were any signs of acrimony on Kim's part because of Drakken's treatment of her.

Shego still couldn't believe how cruel Drakken's attack had been on Kim. He had been so callous in using what had happened to Stoppable to play on Kim's emotions and bring her defenses down. Not to mention the great pleasure he took in saying what he did to hurt Kim.

It had only just surpassed his enthusiasm when he'd told Shego the news about Ron Stoppable.

_Shego sat with her legs dangling over the side of the chair, flipping through an old edition of Villain Monthly, waiting for Drakken to return after he walked off half way through touting to her the wonders of the Sequencer, and how it was _the_ machine that would see him finally take over the world. _

"_I knew I still had it." He emerged from the shadows, shoving a page from a newspaper in her face. _

_Shego wasn't sure what it was he had, as she searched the articles on the Editorials page, wondering which one was relevant to his yammering about the Sequencer. Turning the page over, she had only seen the headline before Drakken took it off her again. _

_Shego jumped from the chair, ripping the paper from him and began reading._

"_While there's nothing about it in the article, Amy Hall told me that he nearly died. Yes, wouldn't that have been terrible." Drakken started laughing, but Shego ignored him as she took in what little information there was in the story. She checked the date of the newspaper. It was six weeks old. _

"_I… I didn't know this happened. Have you heard anything more?" Shego was reading the scant details in the article again._

_What Drakken related at this point was pure ugliness and cruel insinuation, and gossip he had heard through the criminal grapevine. Hearing Drakken talk the way he did, the smile on his face, his eyes bright, had surprised Shego and she wanted to tell him to stop. But she didn't, she kept quiet while he rambled on. _

_At her apartment later that night, she spent hours on the internet, searching for any articles, trying to get a better understanding of what had occurred. While she found dozens of links on different news sites, each time it was the same story that had been in the newspaper. Verbatim. It resembled a press release. _

_Team Possible was on a mission, but there was no mention of where they were, what it was for or if they were after anyone. Ron was seriously injured after falling down a cliff. There were unconfirmed reports he had suffered spinal injuries. _

_Shego had sat for ages staring at the last few words in the story. While she would never admit it to anyone, Shego gained a new respect for Ron on the day of the Lowardian invasion. After four years as a bumbling sidekick, he finally stepped up when it mattered most and had saved the world, and Kim. If the extent of his injuries were true, Shego didn't think he deserved to spend the rest of his life like that._

The lights dulled, brightened again, bringing Shego out of her thoughts. She folded the last bodysuit and put it in the bag with the others.

Choosing the oldest pair of track pants and a faded t-shirt, she picked up the duffel bag. Leaving the room in darkness, Shego moved down the hall, stopping at the bathroom door.

xxx

Kim opened her eyes when she heard the soft knocking and sat up, putting an arm across her breasts. She waited, watching the door, expecting it to open and for Shego to come in. A shadow moved under the doorframe, and then Shego had said there were clothes outside for her. Kim said "Thanks" but was unsure if it was heard as there was no response and the shadow disappeared.

Letting some of the water out, Kim turned on the hot water to re-fill the tub and slid back down again, thinking about what had happened at the lair. When Shego said to get ready to move, Kim had thought they were going to fight their way out. She didn't expect Shego to pull them close together. Resting her head in the crook of Shego's neck, Shego's arm tightly around her waist, had felt right.

A shiver coursed through Kim's body despite the heat of the water.

xxx

Shego stood between the lounge and dining rooms deciding on the best place to hide the bag. It would have to be somewhere near the front door or at the doors to the terrace, which were her only avenues of escape if she needed to get away quickly. Given the choice, she would opt to leave by the terrace. More open space, allowing for more ways to move. The apartment was on the second floor, so it wasn't too high up if she had to go that way. She took the bag and hid it behind the lounge near the doors to the outside.

She walked past the laptop on the dining room table. The only thing of interest they would get off it would be her fingerprints and they already had plenty of sets of those. It would go in the dumpster as well.

Looking through the peephole in the front door, there was no sign of anyone in the corridor. If Kim had contacted Global Justice, Shego thought they would have turned up by now.

Picking up the telephone, she stepped outside to the terrace. Lightning lit up the sky and the thunder followed not long after. The wind that blew through was cold.

Pressing a button to begin the call, the handset lit up, but there was no dial tone.

"Oh great, could this day get any better?" Returning inside, Shego sat down at the table positioning herself so she could watch both the front door and the door to the terrace. Switching on the laptop, Shego figured she may as well get some final use out of it and fill in time while she waited for Kim to come out of the bathroom. She looked down the hallway wondering what was taking her so long.

xxx


	4. Waiting Out The Storm

As much as she wanted to stay in the bath all night, Kim rose from the tepid water and toweled herself dry. Switching the light back on, she opened the door and reached down for the neat pile of clothes. She thought she heard Shego talking, but when she stopped to listen, there was only the sound of the rain lashing against the windows behind her.

Kim checked her underwear, draping it back over the bath, then pulled the clothes on. Catching her reflection in the mirror, she smiled, nodded to herself. Finding toothpaste in the vanity, she used her finger to brush her teeth, wanting a toothbrush, but it was better than nothing. From her utility belt, she took lip balm, used it and dropped the belt back to the floor, kicking it and her clothes out of the way. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the hallway.

"Where are you?"

This time she definitely heard Shego speaking, but there was no reply to the question. Kim carefully peeked around the corner and saw Shego sitting at the laptop, close to the screen, looking from corner to corner.

"Come on, I know you're there somewhere," Shego said.

Kim approached to see a life bar rapidly decreasing and Shego move her character out of the line of fire. She was relieved it was the game Shego had been talking to. The image on screen was badly pixelated, and the nighttime setting only added to the poor picture quality, but from her angle, Kim saw movement. "Building to the right of the alley. Sixth floor, first window in."

The scent of body wash, with a hint of strawberries and peppermint surrounded Shego. She closed her eyes, slowly taking in and letting out a deep breath. _God she smells good. _When the ripple passed through her belly, her eyes shot back open and she sat looking at the red flashing screen.

Some part of Kim's body lightly pressed against Shego's shoulder, as a porcelain arm came forward pointing at the screen. "There." Shego looked at the well-toned arm, dusted with fine red hairs that caught the light. The wonderful scent became stronger and Shego fought the urge to lean backwards to increase the contact. Instead she quickly stood to face Kim. They were so close, that Shego had to take a step backwards. It felt strange to be standing that near to Kim when they weren't fighting and Shego was unsure what to do. She saw her answer in the telephone and moved away from Kim to get it.

"Feel better?" Shego said.

"I do. Thanks."

"Good, then if you're ready to go, I'll call you a cab. I tried earlier, but the line was dead." Shego hit the call button, put the telephone to her ear, bringing the handset down again almost immediately. "Why don't you see what you can arrange?"

Kim took out her old Kimmunicator, cleared the KP logo and saw the satellite signal was at full strength. "I'm out too." As she slid the device back into the sweatpants, she felt for and hit the off button. Kim felt guilty for the lie, but wanted to stay as long as she could and talk to the other woman.

Shego felt that asking Kim to leave and go back out into the storm again wasn't an option. She hadn't helped Kim get away from Drakken, just to have her catch pneumonia. Resigning herself to the fact Kim wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, Shego told herself all she had to do to get Kim out the door without any drama was to keep herself alert but calm.

"I'd take you wherever you wanted to go, but my car is back at the lair." There had been no time to get it when they had fled from Drakken earlier that afternoon. Depending on how the night panned out, she would return to the lair and if Global Justice weren't there, get the car back into storage until she returned back to the States permanently. She hated the thought of having to leave it behind. She refocused on Kim, who was standing watching her. "I guess you'll have to wait out the storm here." Now it had been said out loud, there was no taking it back.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty? I have juice, water, green tea. I might have a soda," Shego said.

"Juice is fine."

"Anything to eat?"

"No thanks."

While Shego was in the kitchen, Kim sat on the leather sofa, taking in the details of the spacious apartment. The open plan lounge and dining rooms melded into one another, with the kitchen off to the side. White walls and tiled floors were softened with warm colors found in the décor. The furniture was modern, as were the prints on the walls. Despite not having any personal items, it still felt inviting. Kim wondered what the view would be like if the curtains covering the large windows were open.

Shego returned, handing the juice to Kim. When the smell of fresh bread, chicken and coleslaw wafted Kim's way, her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled loudly. Feeling the heat of the blush on her face, Kim accepted the plate being held out to her and Shego returned to the kitchen.

xxx

Walking back into the lounge, Shego saw the sandwich and juice sitting on the coffee table, untouched. She spun around to check the front door, but the locks were still in place. About to check down the hallway, movement near the door to the terrace caught her eye, then the curtain moved again. She trotted to the door, pulled the curtain back, stopped. Kim stood under the covered area with her back to Shego, hugging herself against the wind that blew through. She turned, grabbing her hair to stop it from whipping across her face.

"She's so nice here," Kim said.

"What did you say?"

"I said it's so nice here."

Shego was confused by what she thought she heard, explained it away as the wind distorting Kim's words. "Come back inside where it's warm."

Shego locked the door behind them, using her foot to nudge her duffle bag further back behind the sofa. Kim sat cross legged, having pulled a throw blanket around her shoulders. Shego sat in a single chair facing Kim.

"I might be able to find you something warmer to wear."

"You don't need to do that," Kim said. She took a bite of the sandwich, a second and a third. "This is really good!"

Shego was surprised she understood what Kim had said, with the young woman's mouth being so full of food. Kim licked mayo from her fingers to pick up the juice, not putting the glass down again until it was empty. She finished her sandwich, while Shego had only taken a few bites of her own and Kim hungrily eyed the other half on Shego's plate.

"When did you last eat?" Shego said.

"Lunch. Yesterday."

Shego pushed her half sandwich over to Kim, took the empty glass into the kitchen, coming back with more juice.

"Thanks." Kim reached up for the glass and it was half gone before Shego sat down. Kim wiped her mouth with the paper serviette and threw it onto the plate.

"Thanks for helping me today," Kim said.

"Well I wasn't about to let Drakken kill you."

"He was angry with you."

"He'll get over it." It still amazed Shego how much of her smart mouth and attitude Drakken had taken over the years. Finding out he had feelings for her explained a lot of that. This time she wouldn't know if he got over what she did today. It wasn't the way she expected for things to end this time, however it already felt like it was the right thing to have done.

"Where have you been?" Kim said.

The question caught Shego off guard. "Around." She added a slight shrug of her shoulders to the short answer.

"How long have you been back?"

"Not long."

Kim moved on the sofa, straightened her back, pulling the blanket tighter around her. "This isn't an interrogation, Shego."

"Well we're not old friends catching up, so I'm not sure what else you'd call it. Come to think of it, shouldn't you be arresting me?" Shego had moved forward in the chair, clutching the arms tightly, the words spoken before she could filter her response. Silently berating herself, she sat back in the chair again, forcing her body to relax.

"You're not on the most wanted list for Global Justice anymore, but when you didn't turn up to sign the paperwork for your pardon, they placed you on their persons of interest list."

"I'm not their most wanted?" Shego said.

Kim gave her a big smile. "No, you're not."

"Wow, I'm slipping. I need to do something about that." A smile slowly curled on Shego's lips.

"Shego, that's not funny. You need to go and see Doctor Director."

"Need to. Don't want to."

"So you'd rather spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder," Kim said.

"Do I need to do that now?"

"Not right now. No."

"Thanks for the heads up," Shego said.

"Please go see her."

Shego ignored the plea, the removal of an imaginary piece of fluff from her bodysuit her indifferent response to the request.

"Why won't you do this for yourself?" Kim said.

"Do _what_, exactly?"

"You have the opportunity to continue turning your life around and you're wasting it."

"What do you mean continue turning my life around?" Shego wasn't sure of the direction the conversation was heading in, but she wanted Kim to stop going there.

"The first time we met, you were happy to see me as shark food, but it went from that to you saving me from Warmonga. Twice. You helped your brothers get their powers back from Aviarius. Miss Go-"

"That wasn't me."

"She's a part of you."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Shego jumped out of the chair, grabbed the plates and glass and retreated into the kitchen. Kim heard the items land in the sink with a terrible clatter.

Shego's eyes narrowed and her lips went into a thin line when she saw Kim standing in the doorway. "You take Psych 101 at college and you think you know me? Well you don't. This conversation is over." As she left the kitchen, Shego bumped Kim with her shoulder.

"No it's not," Kim said quietly. For the past three years, Kim hadn't heard one report of a crime involving Shego or even anyone matching Shego's description. She was disappointed and hurt how quickly Shego had reverted back to her old ways now she was back with…him. Returning to the lounge, she found Shego on the sofa, tapping away at the laptop.

Kim sat watching her. "Why are you denying it?" It was becoming harder to not be emotional. "Shego you went from years of helping Drakken…" Saying the name made Kim falter momentarily. "…try and take over the world, to saving it. If that's not a sure sign that you've changed, I don't know what is."

There was more silence from Shego who continued to focus on the laptop screen.

"That's why I don't understand why you're back working for him. The one time…" _…you really needed to be all that and you weren't. _

xxx

Minutes of silence passed with Shego determined not to look up. At last Kim had taken the hint and stopped talking. Years of living with her brothers had taught Shego that if she didn't answer them when they were talking to her, annoying her, they would give up and leave her alone. She was surprised this tactic was also working on Kim.

"He's right." The quietness with which the words were said made Shego finally look up. Kim's eyes glistened with tears. Anguish and hurt covered her face. "It was my fault."

Knowing where Drakken got his information about the accident from, Shego couldn't let Kim think that. "Ignore him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"It was so routine." Kim stared at a point on the floor, a far-away expression on her face. "I should have known something was wrong, but I thought he…" Their eyes met. Kim opened and closed her mouth, unsure if she should continue, but wanting, needing to talk about what happened. "It's my fault Ron's paralyzed."

"I don't believe that," Shego said. Kim said something in response, but Shego didn't hear it, was arguing the point that Kim would never let anyone, especially Ron, get hurt when on a mission with her. Shego finished what she thought was a convincing argument. "It was just a terrible accident."

Kim repeated the words Shego hadn't heard the first time. "I moved him."

xxx


	5. My Enemy and My Confidante

The confession surprised Shego, but she kept her face, she hoped, expressionless. It was difficult to hear Kim admitting she made such a crucial mistake.

"I know you're not supposed to move someone after a fall like that. It was Ron. I panicked," Kim said. "I'm the reason he'll never walk again."

Shego felt Kim was wrong in coming to such a definite conclusion. "Kim, if he fell from a great height, the impact…" Shego stopped, remembering she was talking about Kim's boyfriend. "Did he say anything, or make any sound at the time?"

Kim wiped away tears, frowned as she searched her memories. "I really can't remember."

_She found Ron splayed over the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, his body twisted in a way she never imagined would have been physically possible, bleeding from cuts and scrapes, fierce abrasions on his face and arms. Rufus was by his side trying to get a response from the young man; pulling at Ron's torn clothing, jumping on him. When Kim grabbed Ron under his arms, raising his upper body intending to move him to more level ground, the little creature had run up to put his face close to hers, his desperate chattering sounding like 'No! No! No!' before he ran down to tug at her Kimmunicator. When she realized what she was doing, Kim stopped, called for help, then sat comforting Ron, waiting for a medical team to arrive. _

Thinking about it again now, Kim was unsure how much she actually moved Ron. "Do you think there's a chance he was already paralyzed when I got there?"

Shego felt there was only one person who could answer that and even he may not know for sure. "I just don't think you were responsible for what happened. Ron would have known the odds of getting hurt." Shego knew what she was saying sounded detached, but that's what she was. There was no emotional connection with Ron, so she could be objective.

"His parents think it was my fault too. They're suing me. They're saying Ron worked for me and I was negligent in ensuring his safety. All our mission gear was taken away for testing. If they find fault with it, they're talking about suing Wade as well," Kim said.

"What does Ron have to say about that?"

"I'm not allowed any kind of contact with him."

_At the hospital, Kim was about to tell the doctors how she found Ron, what she did before the paramedics arrived, however his mother ran up to Kim, screaming at her, blaming Kim for the accident, telling anyone who would listen she never wanted Ron to go on missions. Kim's parents convinced Kim to go home with them, to give Mrs Stoppable time to calm down. _

_The next day, Kim unknowingly accepted a restraining order instructing her not to go near Ron or his family. Each day after that she secretly returned to the hospital, but not to see Ron. As hard as it was and as much as it hurt to do it, Kim complied with the court order. She went to look at the results of the tests being performed and when the final prognosis was made, it was heartbreaking. His spinal cord was damaged, the injury irreversible. Ron would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. _

"Did you ask him to go with you?" Kim shook her head. "Did you _make _him go with you?" Kim shook her head again. "Then they don't have a case." Shego didn't know if what she was saying was right, but it seemed Kim was being unfairly made to take the blame for what occurred.

"Shego, I don't have the kind of money they're asking for. My parents are talking about selling our home and that won't even cover the legal fees." Kim roughly brushed more tears away. "I don't understand why his parents are doing this."

Shego thought Ron's loyalty to Kim would have no boundaries; that he would defend Kim, no matter what the circumstances were. "I don't understand why your boyfriend is letting them."

For a few moments Shego's comment confused Kim, then she remembered how long Shego had been gone for. "Ron's not my boyfriend anymore. We broke up about two years ago," Kim said.

Shego had never put too much thought into Ron and Kim being together, but she didn't consider them equal on any level. Hearing more than she wanted to regarding the accident and the domino effect it was having, she didn't want to have to listen to Kim's relationship problems as well.

"Who else knows you moved him?" Shego said.

"I haven't told anybody else."

"And you _don't_. Do you understand? If that gets out, you and your parents stand to lose _everything_."

Kim put her head in her hands, slowly shaking her head. If her actions only affected her, she wouldn't have cared, however her family, especially her parents, were also caught up in her mistake. Countless times she wished the accident hadn't happened, but knew there was no point wishing, because nothing could change the past.

Thunder reverberated through the apartment and the lights dimmed. The wind blew against the windows which creaked in objection to the intrusion. Shego welcomed the interruption, took advantage of it to end the conversation. She'd heard enough, given her opinion, some advice. It was up to Kim what she took on board.

"Looks like you're here for the night. The second bedroom isn't set up yet, so you'll have to sleep in my bed." While Shego still planned to leave as soon as Kim was gone, there wasn't the same urgency as before. It had been a long, tiring day and talking with Kim added to that. She planned to rest, but not sleep.

Kim wasn't ready for bed. She wanted to forget about the accident for a little while, to find out more about Shego's life since she'd been away. "Shego-"

"Look, it's late. I'm tired and there are a few things I need to do before I get to sleep. I don't know when I'll be finished, so I'll bunk down on the sofa." Despite the downgrade by Global Justice to a person of interest, Shego wasn't going to let her guard down. She still wanted to be close to her escape points and she could keep better track of Kim if she was at the other end of the apartment. She rose from the sofa and headed down the hallway.

Shego stood at the door of the bedroom, indicating for Kim to go through. Kim stopped when she noticed the older woman wasn't following her into the room, turned and went back to her. Kim's face was drawn, a little pale. She looked tired, her eyes puffy and red. To Shego she looked…lost. A slight twinge of guilt passed through Shego as she realized how dispassionate she must have sounded to Kim. Yet she didn't feel pity for Kim, it was more a sense of injustice. For all that Kim had done for the world, this is what she was given back; a situation she had no control over for which she was emotionally paying a heavy price, and may also pay for in the literal sense.

"Thanks for listening," Kim said quietly.

"It'll be okay, Kim." Without thinking, Shego tucked a stray wisp of hair behind Kim's ear, her thumb gently brushing Kim's cheek as she did so. When she realized what she'd done, Shego dropped her arm to her side. Kim took the last step separating them and hugged Shego. She turned her face into Shego's neck and the older woman adjusted her head to accommodate the shift, feeling Kim's warm breath coming up under her chin.

Kim pressed her body closer, tightening her hold on Shego's shoulders, trying to decide if Shego's body actually felt warmer than other people or if it was her imagination. Either way, she was loving the warmth coming from the other woman. She felt Shego's body tense, hands on her arms, being gently pushed away. Kim's smile faded when she saw the stony expression on Shego's face, the aversion to eye contact.

"Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." The abrupt tone with which the words were spoken made them sound like an order. Then Shego was gone and Kim found herself looking at a closed door.

xxx

Sitting at the dining table, Shego tried to make sense of what happened.

_That damn strand of hair was out of place since she came in from the terrace and I'm the one who did something about it? _ _I couldn't casually point it out to her, no, I went and put it back behind her ear for her. And why didn't she pull away or flinch at the touch? Why didn't I end up on my ass from a reflex punch?_ _Damnit she was so close, she almost climbed into my bodysuit with me._ _Then there was that little noise she made… _

It was at that point during the embrace Shego felt the stirring sensation for the second time and feeling obliged to, almost blurted out she was leaving the country. She'd frozen and a sense of frustration washed over her, followed by annoyance with herself for almost giving her plans away and knew she needed to get out of the room before she said something she'd regret.

Shego told herself there was no point in trying to make sense about what happened, because it didn't matter. Kim would be out the door at the first opportunity and she would be following shortly after. Deciding a shower might help to clear her head, she grabbed clothes from the duffle bag and headed down the hallway, finding herself back at the bedroom door, holding onto the handle. About to turn it, the logical side of her brain reminded her it was Kim on the other side of the door. Kim _Possible_. Thinking the surname was enough of a reality check for Shego to turn and walk away.

xxx


	6. Until Morning

Puddles of water dotted the tiles, and wet towels were carelessly thrown over dry ones on the racks. A drop of water formed on the hem of the panties hanging over the side of the tub and when it got too heavy, it fell to the floor, mixing in with the body wash oozing from the fallen bottle. Shego bent to pick up the container, saw the ring of scum around the inside of the bath. A small growl escaped her and it took everything she had not to drag Kim in there to clean the mess up.

Among the bottles of bath products on the vanity she spotted the loose toothpaste cap. "I swear, if you've used my toothbrush…"

After checking the bristles were dry, Shego squeezed some paste onto them. She moved around the room cleaning up the mess, brushing her teeth as she did so. She looked at the muddy, wet material at her feet. "Green is _my_ damn color," she muttered. The temptation was to kick the top out of the way. Instead she picked it up, and threw it onto the 'Kim' pile in the corner.

Once there was some semblance of tidiness to the room, Shego peeled herself out of her bodysuit, using it to wrap up the money, instructions and passport.

The stall soon filled with steam and Shego stepped under the hot water. Turning to feel the pressure on her back, she let out a yelp as the spray turned icy cold. The faucets almost broke from the wall in her haste to turn them off.

Stepping out, she dried herself, hoping there weren't too many more hours left until morning, and considering if going and burning Kim's ass would make herself feel any better.

xxx

Kim sat on the edge of the king-size bed, deciding if she should apologize to Shego. The hug had been instinctive and it wasn't until Shego had pushed her away, that Kim became aware something was wrong. She was puzzled by the behavior, considering it was the other woman who initiated the contact, then just as abruptly ended it.

She stood, sat down again, doubting an apology was the right thing to do, was worried that sorry wasn't all that would be said and the conversation could escalate to something more. With Shego struggling to control her anger several times during the night and her reaction to the hug, Kim didn't want to push Shego to a point where they ended up physically fighting.

She pulled the Kimmunicator from her pocket and moved to the walk-in robe. The doors were closed behind her, and as soon as it powered up, the device beeped once before Kim hit the answer button.

Wade's image appeared on screen. No longer the chubby, moon faced boy, he lost weight as he had gone into his teens; cutting back on junk food and having a steady online girlfriend helped. The last time Kim saw him in person, he was the same height as her.

"Hey Wade." Kim said, her voice low.

"Kim! I've been trying to contact you! Are you okay? " The concern in the teenager's eyes matched the tone of his voice.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kim said.

"Did you find Drakken? Was he working on a plan to take over the world?"

"I'm afraid so."

"What was he doing?"

Kim peeked out through the slats of the plantation doors, watching and listening for any movement. "He's built something called a global detonator sequencer."

Wade let out a slow whistle. "I can't believe he'd jeopardize his pardon like that. Global Justice is going to throw the book at him."

"He wasn't arrested, I… Things didn't go to plan," Kim said.

"It wasn't the equipment, was it?"

With those few words, Kim's heart sank. "Wade, everything worked fine." He nodded, but in the light from the computer monitor, his eyes glistened. Kim was confident the Stoppable's lawyers wouldn't find any of Wade's gadgets faulty, and she had told him that many times. She wanted so badly for him to believe it too.

"So what happened?" Wade said.

"It's too complicated to explain now. I just wanted to let you know I'm okay," Kim said.

"Do you want me to send Global Justice to arrest him?"

"_No!_" Wade gave her an odd look. "I'll take care of it," Kim said more calmly. She didn't want the law enforcement group discovering Shego's car at the lair, for them to know she'd been back working for Drakken. Also, Kim thought that without the instructions for the sequencer, Drakken would be unable to continue or at least be delayed, giving her enough time to prepare herself for their next encounter.

"Are you at home?" Wade said.

"I'm at a friend's place." Kim looked around at the few clothes hanging in the wardrobe, noticed the damaged packing carton pushed back against the wall. She looked back down at the screen. "I've got to go. I'm going to power down the Kimmunicator again."

"Kim, you never do that. Are you sure everything's alright? Do you need me to send a ride?" Wade said.

"It's just for tonight."

Wade sat silently, searching Kim's face for answers to unasked questions. "I'm here if you need me," He finally said.

"I know you are." He was one of the few constants in her life these days and she was grateful to have him as her friend. "Thanks, Wade." The screen showed the _**KP**_ logo, went to black when Kim hit the power button.

Resigned it would be morning before she saw Shego again, Kim returned to the bed, climbed under the covers.

It had been good talking about the accident and the lawsuit with Shego. Some of the heaviness she'd felt inside for the past few months had disappeared; the change was palpable. Even being at the apartment itself had an effect on her, making her feel… the words _at home_ popped into her head.

"_Relaxed_," she clarified to herself. Kim rolled onto her side, each intake of breath bringing with it the faint scent of Shego. Her breathing started to slow and her eyes grew heavier.

xxx

Shego slowly opened the bedroom door, the blanket draped over her arm a prop to use if Kim was awake. She stood watching the slow rise and fall of Kim's upper body, wondering how she'd managed to fall asleep with every light in the room on.

Not wanting to leave the room in total darkness, Shego went to the robe, soon returning to switch off the bedside lamp nearest to her, soundlessly going to the one on Kim's side before moving back to the door. The main light was turned off, leaving only the lamp beside Kim on, its light softened by the sheer material now draped over it.

xxx


End file.
